Chapter 4: Settling Down
Juno was almost done getting dressed after a long hot shower. Since her Canidae nose was strong, she could a whiff of something delicious downstairs that made her mouth salivate. When she turned on her phone after so long, she received a few emails from the Selkie School for Gifted Girls where they gave her the class' timetable and what books to buy.
Pinching her temples, she decided to reread the messages after a quick bite.
Downstairs, Arabelle was at the table while her father was ladling her plate with what looked like spaghetti in red sauce and there's a jug of water with sliced lemons. Both of the swans smiled when she descended the stairs to greet them. "Thank you for letting me stay in the guest room," Juno thanked them with a bow. "I smelled something delicious while I was freshening up."
"That would be my dad's penne arrabbiata. It's my favourite dish in the world!" Arabelle explained with a bounce in her voice. Janus puffed his chest with pride before ladling some on Juno's plate. The she-wolf sat on the opposite side of the table next to Arabelle. She wanted to know more about the school and this country. Taking a bite of the pasta, her eyes widened at the kick she was tasting.
It was spicy!
Back home, she wasn't fond of spicy food because of her low spice tolerance. But this pasta was slightly sweet so it does help. During dinner, Juno told Arabelle and her father about Cherryton, the drama club and the Meteorite Festival.
Arabelle sipped her glass of lemon-infused water. "That sounds amazing! I have a feeling you would be a dancer. What kind of dances do you know?"
Juno's purplish-blue eyes sparkled with delight. Finally something they could bond over! She listed a few of the dances, watching the black swan nodding with interest. Once she was done, Arabelle gestured upstairs.
"After dinner, do you want to listen to some records with me? I have a few collections upstairs."
"Oh, yes please!" Juno's tail wagged with excitement. "You listen to vinyl records? I thought-"
"It's a lost art that's coming back," said Arabelle, wiping her beak with a napkin. "I'm sure we all have those ideas of bringing back something to the world."
And that was when Juno thought back to the red deer who finally became a ghost of a smile caught in the wind. Louis had a new life, so now it was time for her to carve one for herself. Following Arabelle upstairs, she gasped at the sight of her room:
It was crystal blue and pristine like ice with the colours and yet she felt warmth. There was a desk with her laptop, makeup kits and even a hand- wingheld mirror. At the corner, there was a bedside table with drawers while on the opposite side, there was the record player.
"Wow..." was all Juno could muster while Arabelle was sorting through her discs. She held one up for her with the cover of an oldie but a goodie:
The maneless lion named Elton.
"Eeeek! I love Elton's song!" Juno gushed, causing a reaction of excitement out of Arabelle. Taking Juno's paw in her wing, they played the songs that swelled the pristine bedroom. The songs were:
Wednesday's Night Alright
Alligator Rock
Standing
Rocket Mouse
Meanwhile downstairs, Janus was clearing up the table and placing some of the dishes in the dishwasher. He figured having an exchange student would make his Arabelle open up more. There was nothing wrong with her being shy but by having a friend to hang out with and spend some time together does wonder.
He hoped Juno would be able to help her.
...
Meanwhile at the cobra household, Pina had never tasted something so divine!
Never had he tasted so much spices in something as simple as spinach and the paneer cubes were nice touch to compliment the naan. The Dall sheep never knew that there was such a thing as flatbread and he bets his wool that the curry here were different than the ones served at Cherryton's cafeteria.
What was bizarre was the fact that he was eating with his hand instead of utensils. Then again, you don't use a knife and fork when you eat a sandwich, right?
"This is really good," said Pina, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Sameer was eating on the opposite side but he could tell that the golden-scale Egyptian cobra looked a bit flustered. How cute! "Thank you, Pina," Mumtaz smiled as she poured him a small cup of sweet-smelling tea. Perfect for the cold weather this evening.
He was briefed that tomorrow, they will shop for his school uniform and supplies to get ready for the semester. There was so much he had wanted to tell Aoba, Bill, Els and the rest of the gang at the drama club. What he noticed was that both Sameer and his mother have not spoken a lot ever since they entered the house. His mother was eating quietly while Sameer sipped his tea, giving Pina a warm smile that reflected his beautiful carnelian eyes. They were like hidden jewels from a hidden temple. Pina winked back at him, causing him to slightly flare his hood out of embarrassment before taking a quick glance at his mother, who was still eating.
Was it because of him?
"So Sameer," said Pina, trying to lighten the mood. "Where's your dad? And your sister moved out, right?"
"Talia moved out after she graduated, yes," the Egyptian cobra nodded. "Now it's just me and my youngest sister, Yasmin. She and Baba were-"
The conversation was interrupted by a sudden burst of energy that came into the house in a form of a little mottled brown-black cobra with chocolate eyes about 7 years of age who slithered into her mother's coils. "We're back, Mama! Who's the sheep opposite big brother?"
"I'm Pina. And who might you be?" Pina gave her a friendly smile and reached out a hand in greeting, causing her to flicker her tongue out. "You smell funny! Where did you come from and your eyes are so blue! Did you-"
A hiss got the hyper snake's attention and Pina's jaw nearly dropped. He was by right, the reason why one would say snakes were terrifying. Since he was bigger than Mumtaz, who was a head smaller, he dominated the room. His scales were pure ebony black with brown eyes that looked slightly red in the dining room's light. Even Sameer got up from his seat to greet him with a murmured "welcome home" and kissed him on the raised tail.
Pina figured that if they had limbs, the greeting would be similar to kissing someone on the hand.
Standing up, he bowed politely with his heart hammering. What sort of job does Sameer's father do to give such an aura?
"I'm home," the deep, almost raspy voice greeted both his son and wife, whom he kissed her tenderly on the head. He hugged Sameer briefly before his attention was on the Dall sheep. "And you must be the exchange student that will be my son's responsibility."
Sameer's hood flared slightly but there wasn't an ounce of fear in his beautiful eyes. And needless to say, Pina now knows where he got his speech and mannerism from. Not wanting to leave the patriarch hanging, he nodded. "Yes, my name is Pina. It's a pleasure to meet you, Baba."
Big mistake.
His hood flared and it was as dark as the voice but his voice was not raised. In fact, it was calm as if it was a teacher telling him off. It made the Dall sheep feel small but determined to win the father over.
"You may call me sir or Your Honour, boy. Hope you have freshen up and get a good rest before tomorrow. Mumtaz, my desert flower, I'm going to wash up now and put Yasmin to bed. We already had something for dinner together."
"Baba, I'm not tired!" Yasmin whined, coiling around Sameer. "Can I stay up to talk with Pina? He's so fluffy!"
But a silent gaze made her nod and begrudgingly follow her father from behind. Unsure of what he wanted to do, Sameer led Pina to the living room. He noticed how firm yet gentle he gripped his hand. He wanted nothing more than to run his hand across his smooth scales to assure him.
"Sorry about my father," said Sameer as they sat on the sofa to watch something on the television. "He's a bit...wary around strangers. If you are wondering about his job, he's a judge- THE judge of the Supreme Court."
In case you are wondering, Baba is another name to call 'father'. So yeah, Pina and Juno will experience different families from their own